4700. Election Department
Record Group
Identifier: 4700
The Board of Registrars of Voters was appointed in May of 1874 and was succeeded July 1, 1895 by the Board of Election Commissioners. This department exercises all the powers and duties formerly conferred upon the Board of Registrars of Voters (including the preparation of the jury list), except the power and duty of giving notice of elections and fixing the days and hours for holding the same. The Board also exercises all the powers and duties formerly conferred upon the City Clerk and other officers by chapter 504 of the Acts of 1894. One Election Commissioner is appointed by the Mayor each year, term beginning on the 1st of April. The two leading political parties must be equally represented on the Board and the Chairman is designated annually by the Mayor.
Found in 14 Collections and/or Records:
Election Commission proceedings
Series
Identifier: 4700.013
Scope and Contents
Includes the minutes of the meetings of the Election Commission from 1914-1922, 1927-1990 June, 1991 July-1997.
Dates:
1914-1997 with gaps
Election Department annual reports and publications
Series
Identifier: 4700.010
Scope and Contents
Includes copies of annual reports for the years 1924, 1926-1928, 1930-1932, 1934-1935, 1937, 1939-1953, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1969-1981, 1991; "Ordinance Defining New Boundaries of Wards", 1875; "Lists of Streets, Avenues, Courts, Places, etc.", 1880 and 1896; "Act to Provide for Printing and Distributing Ballots at the Public Expense and to Regulate Voting...Being the So-called Australian Ballot Law", 1889; "Report of Special Committee on New Division of Wards into Voting Precincts", 1889; "List...
Dates:
1875-1991
Election Department scrapbook
Item — Oversize 1
Identifier: 4700.009
Scope and Contents
Scrapbook of forms used by the Election Commissioners. Includes registration forms, nomination papers, ballots, ward map, instructions, certificates of Election, polling location posters, etc.
Dates:
1895-1897, 1908
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Election Department scrapbook
Jury lists
Series — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 4700.012
Scope and Contents
Lists of names of persons liable to serve as jurors in the several courts of Suffolk County.
Dates:
1856-1982
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Jury lists
List of Qualified Male Voters
Item — Volume 1
Identifier: 4700.003
Scope and Contents note
Printed list of qualified male voters for 1889 kept in the Mayor's Office.
Dates:
1889
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
List of Qualified Male Voters
Opinions of the Corporation Counsel requested by the Board of Election Commissioners
Series — Volume 1
Identifier: 4700.014
Scope and Contents
One bound volume and 1 folder of legal opinions requested by the Board of Election Commissioners, 1895-1949, 1967-1974.
Dates:
1895-1974 with gaps
Record of change of enrolment
Series
Identifier: 4700.007
Scope and Contents
Record of appearance by individual before the Election Commissioners to change party enrolment.
Dates:
1926-1954
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Record of change of enrolment
Record of oaths
Item — Volume 1
Identifier: 4700.008
Scope and Contents
Record of oaths sworn by Assistant Registrars of Voters.
Dates:
1896-1935
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Record of oaths
Record of return of votes from the several wards in the City of Boston
Series
Identifier: 4700.004
Scope and Contents
Returns, certified by the City Clerk, of all votes cast in elections. Volumes from 1822-1877 do not include Common Council returns.
Dates:
1822-1894 with gaps
Record of returns of votes by precinct
Series
Identifier: 4700.005
Scope and Contents
Record of returns of votes cast by ward and precinct.
Dates:
1878-1894
Record of votes cast at special elections
Series
Identifier: 4700.006
Scope and Contents
Records of votes cast at special elections held in individual wards.
Dates:
1879-1891
Voter registration records
Collection
Identifier: 4700.001
Scope and Contents note
This collection includes voter registration records for men from 1857-1900, women from 1920-1940 and men from 1921-1940. The registers are not a comprehensive listing of all registered voters. The period 1857-1895 includes only naturalized males and for the period 1920-1940 other sets of registers were used to register voters. The collection has been divided into four series: Naturalized male voter indexes; Naturalized male voter registers; Naturalized and Native male voter registers; and Women...
Dates:
circa 1857-1940 with gaps
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Voter registration records
Ward and precinct maps
Collection
Identifier: 4700.011
Scope and Contents
Map books showing ward and precinct boundaries for the years 1878, 1886, 1889, 1890, 1895, 1916, 1921 and 1925 printed by the Election Department.
Dates:
1878-1925
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Ward and precinct maps
Women voter registers
Collection
Identifier: 4700.002
Scope and Content
This collection contains registers documenting naturalized and native women registered to vote in school board elections from 1884-1920. Naturalized women immigrated to the United States and acquired citizenship. Native women were citizens by birth. Women who became citizens through their native husbands were registered as native voters (Chapter 223, Acts of 1879). Registers are labeled with a ward number, a volume number or both. Only the Naturalized Women Voter Registers have an index, all...
Dates:
1884-1920
Found in:
City of Boston Archives
/
Women voter registers